The Marriage of the Lamb

“After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.’ Again they said, ‘Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.’” Verses 1-4.

The first time we read the word “Alleluia” in the New Testament is when the harlot receives her judgment. This “Alleluia” comes from a great multitude in heaven. Such a cry of joy could only come from heaven. It comes from the bride of Christ who has battled against the harlot’s destructive sorcery, which has finally come to an end. Those who are on the earth at this time will be under God’s judgment, so they will be thinking about something quite different than shouting “Alleluia.” But in heaven this rings out:

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Verses 7 and 8.

The marriage of the Lamb will take place in heaven while God’s judgment is being poured out over the beast and all who worship it. This is when the wedding feast takes place. The five wise virgins will go into the marriage feast, because they are ready. On earth it will be midnight. It was granted to the wise virgins to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure; these were their righteous deeds.

We see that the bride has woven her own wedding dress; it is her works. And yet it says, “To her it was granted . . . .” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Eph. 2:10. “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Phil. 1:11. “To her it was granted to be arrayed . . . .” The good works were prepared beforehand, but the bride had to walk in them, to clothe herself in them. She was created in Christ Jesus to do them. “For we are his workmanship . . . .” We have already explained this salvation. Now the bride has made herself ready. She followed the Lamb wherever He went. Her wedding dress is ready.

There are many who confuse the wedding dress with the wedding garments. Jesus talks about the latter in His parable about the man who came to a wedding without a garment. Matt. 22:12. Obviously the bride will be clothed differently than the guests. The wedding garments are imputed righteousness without works—justification by faith in Jesus’ blood, reconciliation to God by the death of His Son. Rom. 4:5 and 5:9-10. The wedding dress denotes personal righteousness—faith working through love. Gal. 5:6.

“Then he said to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!”’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’” Rev. 19:9.

There will be guests at the wedding, and you can be certain that no one will be allowed in who will have to be cast out later. First and foremost, the bridegroom’s friends will be there. John 3:29. John the Baptist was a friend of the bridegroom; Abraham is called a friend of God. We will see Enoch, Noah, Elijah, and all the saints who lived in the Old Testament, who received a good testimony through faith. Heb. 11. When Jesus rose from the dead, He took many saints with Him up from their graves. Matt. 27:52-53. It will be a glorious assembly!

Following the wedding feast, John sees the heavens open up. Then comes the “invasion” we have already mentioned. Jesus comes with His bride to establish His kingdom. Then Song of Solomon 6:4 will be fulfilled: “O my love, you are beautiful as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners!”

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Rev. 19:11-16.

This is the Lamb, the Bridegroom, going forth with His bride—the called, chosen, and faithful—to war against the beast and the false prophet. Rev. 17:14.

What a honeymoon that will be! How blessed it will be to have a part in liberating the earth from Satan’s tyranny, which has lasted for thousands of years. The wedding feast will continue on the earth after Satan has been bound.

“O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth . . . . And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.’ For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest, and Moab shall be trampled down under Him, as straw is trampled down for the refuse heap. And He will spread out His hands in their midst as a swimmer reaches out to swim, and He will bring down their pride together with the trickery of their hands.” Is. 25:1-11.

In that day, the Messiah will come as King together with the saints and will free the Jews from Gog and all his forces—the godless proud. He will take away the reproach of His people from the earth. Then they will say, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.” The Jews have been waiting for Him since the days of David. When He comes they will say, “This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

Then the veil that is spread over all nations will be taken away. This veil was removed from our eyes when we were converted. 2 Cor. 3:15-16. Only when the Lord comes again will it be removed from all the nations, and He will wipe away all the tears from their eyes. As for Moab, He will tread him down like straw in a dungpit. Moab is God’s enemy. The gospel Jesus brought is living water, clear as crystal. Rev. 22:1; John 4:10. We have already heard the gospel of these beasts with their political programs. They are like dung, and in this dung they will be trodden down. In the midst of this, those who follow the beast will spread out their hands to swim. There have always been such people. They have gone their own way with proud, stiff necks, but when things go wrong and they are exposed for what they are, they are unwilling to acknowledge their folly. They always try to swim. To save themselves, they begin to explain that they didn’t really mean it that way, that everyone has misunderstood them, etc. But Moab cannot save himself. “And He will bring down their pride together with the trickery of their hands.” Is. 25:11.

Then He will prepare a table on the mountain for everyone who is left and for all those who did not go down to the battle of Armageddon.

“‘For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,’ says the Lord, ‘as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.’” Is. 66:18-20.

He will serve them a feast of fat things, full of marrow: “Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” He will prepare a table before them, and they will be satisfied with righteousness.

Pure vintage wine—they will see the promises fulfilled—what once looked so confused and impossible, what so few would believe, will now be pure, clarified, vintage wine. They will drink, rejoice and be glad because of the fulfilled promises. What a richly spread table! The word of the angel applies here also: “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

The parable of the marriage of the king’s son fits in here. Matt. 22:1-14. For many years now God has been sending out His servants with invitations to the marriage. But those who have been invited have continually made excuses; they have always had something that hindered them. Not content with excusing themselves, they have gone on to persecute His servants. But now the day of grace is over, and the time of His judgment has arrived. “[The king] was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” Verse 7. We have already seen how this will happen, and the countries where Christ has been preached will have to bear the brunt of His judgment. Those who heard the message hardened their hearts and received the Antichrist instead. They will face a very dark time.

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’” Matt. 22:8-9. This is the fulfillment of what we read in Isaiah 66:18-20. “So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.” Matt. 22:10.

Perhaps Paul’s words will again be fulfilled. “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” 1 Cor. 1:26-29.

While the cultivated, enlightened, and so-called Christian nations (who in their sophisticated development worshiped the Antichrist) lie there wallowing in their dung, God will send His missionaries to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, to those who have not heard God’s invitation. He will gather the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind, the good and the evil. Perhaps then the nations of Africa, Asia, and India, etc., will have their time, those who have been looked down upon and whom the beast and the false prophet perhaps did not care so much about. Then the Word will be fulfilled which says, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” 1 John 2:2. We can now better understand the Word that says: “God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.” 1 Tim. 4:10. The bride is the one who believed, but He has become the Savior for these people too. Rom. 2:13-16.

When all the guests were gathered, the king came to see them. He wanted to see if everything was in order. We read that the king saw one guest who wasn’t wearing a wedding garment, one who still had not acknowledged his fallen condition and had not received the redemption of Christ. He thought he was good enough as he was, so he had not put on a wedding garment. The king saw him and said, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” He still called him “friend” and was gentle toward him. Perhaps he was unaware of his need for a wedding garment. If he had confessed his need and asked for grace, he might still have been saved. But he said nothing. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Matt. 22:13.

So now the temple has been cleansed; the earth has become a house of prayer. There will be feasting and peace for a thousand years. “‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree.’” Zech. 3:10.